The former Boothen Neighbourhood Centre in Stoke has been given a new lease of life thanks to the MESC Table Tennis Club (MESC TTC) who have taken the facility on as their new base – attracting players from outside the local area. The club, which has been in existence for over 60 years now boasts 90m2 of world class beating Taraflex® Table Tennis Sports floor from international flooring specialist Gerflor in ‘Red’ for their main sports room and it looks first class.
MESC TTC is a Table Tennis England “Premier Club and it has members of all ages ranging from 8-80+ years of age. They also coach juniors and have teams in the National Cadet and Junior League. The intention is that the new venue will move the club forward and eventually become a centre of excellence in the area. The building is now in use seven days a week and offers a place for both experienced and developing table tennis players of all ages to hone their skills.
Malcolm Dawson, Chairman, MESC TTC commented, “The project came about because we were moving to our new premises, which we took over from the Local Authority as part of a Community Asset Transfer. We had been developing the venue from a very small hall, with offices and storerooms into a fit for purpose table tennis specific venue. This involved security fencing outside, security cameras, installing a new ceiling plus LED lighting, removing internal walls, and finally upgrading the sports floor to an Olympic pedigree solution.”
Malcolm Dawson added, “We chose Gerflor’s Taraflex Table Tennis Sports Floor after much research, and as this flooring is approved by the ITTF (which is the Table Tennis’s international governing body), we knew it would be perfectly fit for purpose and our user’s needs.”
The installation of the Gerflor Taraflex® Table Tennis Sports floor would need to be undertaken by a company who would meet the high levels of professionalism that the laying of the new floor would demand. Manchester-based XL Gym Interiors Ltd would be the appointed flooring contractor. The staff at XL Gym Interiors have worked in the health and fitness industry for over 20 years, and witnessed trends come and go. Their job is to make sports facilities current, interesting, and an enjoyable space to train and compete in.
Ross Johns, Managing Director XL Gym Interiors said, “We were contacted by Gerflor’s Area Sales Manager, Lewis Leadeatt to install the Taraflex® Table Tennis Sports floor which was specified by the client. In fact, had we ourselves been asked to specify the flooring for this project, we would also have chosen Gerflor. I personally know and have extensive experience of the Taraflex Table Tennis sports product. Quite simply they are always our first port of call for this type of sports flooring requirement.”
On installation and final outcomes Ross Johns further commented,” The Chairman of the club, Malcolm Dawson, has given exceptionally positive feedback and has remarked on how thrilled the members are with the refurbishment and has thanked us personally for a high quality and professional installation.”
Lewis Leadeatt, Specification Manager, Gerflor North-East said, “The club wanted to develop the premises after a prolonged period of inactivity due to the pandemic. They wanted a strong statement to encourage members to return and embarked on a full-scale refurbishment with our elite level standard sports floor Taraflex Table Tennis Sports flooring being the centre piece.” Lewis Leadeatt further added, “The Taraflex Table Tennis Sports floor is extremely easy to maintain and as there is no need for strong cleaning products or cleaning machines and because there is never a need re-polish, all these elements contribute to its low life cycle costs. It provides outstanding levels of shock absorption and impact protection so that members are at reduced risk of repetitive or impact type injuries from the floor.”
Engineered and developed in partnership with the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Taraflex® Table Tennis Floor is available in a ready to go, easy to install portable playing surface (3.7 mm) and a permanent format (4.5 mm or 6.2 mm). It provides excellent player comfort and protection with its structured embossing made for perfect footing. Taraflex® Table Tennis Floor also provides shock absorption EN 14808 ≥ 25 % -Vertical deformation EN 14809 ≤ 3.5 mm ≤ 2 with a sliding coefficient of EN 13036-4 80 to 110 – 80 – 110 and ball bounce EN 12235 ≥ 90 %. It has abrasion resistance EN ISO 5470-1 ≤ 1000 mg ≤ 350.Impact resistance EN 1517 ≥ 8 N/m – Indentation resistance EN 1516 ≤ 0.5 mm ≤ 0.5 Anti-bacterial activity, (E. coli – S. aureus – MRSA) (1) ISO 22196 – – > 99 % inhibits growth. The product is also treated with Triple Action Protecsol®, which renders polish redundant meaning no polish is ever required, it contributes to easy maintenance and is anti-friction burn and slide/grip.
Back in 2018 Gerflor was the official partner of the IFTT Table Tennis World Championships in Halmstad, Sweden. Gerflor has been the official flooring supplier of the IFTT for 15 years, and once more, the great players of this competition had the opportunity to play on a Taraflex® Table Tennis floor, proving that Gerflor flooring is Where Champions Play.
Ross Johns concluded, “The client is extremely happy with the Taraflex Table Tennis Floor and from recent reports the floor is performing very well. We would always specify Gerflor sports flooring whenever we can. “
Malcolm Dawson ended by saying, “The Gerflor Taraflex Table Tennis Floor has completely surpassed our expectations, it not only looks superb but also performs excellently. We are extremely delighted with the final result and would definitely choose Gerflor’s Taraflex Table Tennis Floor again”
Learn more about Gerflor solutions, ask for a free sample or contact us to speak to a specialist today by calling 03332 412901, emailing contractuk@gerflor.com, or visiting gerflor.co.uk for the latest innovations.